Various types of automated or semi-automated shrimp processing machines are commercially available. Typical shrimp processing machines are adapted to partially or completely remove the shell of the shrimp, thereby readying the shrimp meat for cooking and consumption, for example. Additionally, some shrimp processing machines are adapted to cut the shrimp meat as part of the preparation process. For example, some machines are adapted to provide a butterfly style cut or a western style cut to the shrimp meat.
One known style of shrimp processing machine includes a main wheel equipped with a plurality of clamps spaced about its periphery. This type of machine also includes a loading tray for presenting the shrimp to the main wheel. The shrimp are loaded onto the loading tray by an operator. As the clamps pass the trays, they are loaded with shrimp. Once the clamps are loaded, the main wheel continues to rotate, thereby moving each shrimp through various processing stations such as a cutting station and a meat picking station, for example. The cutting station typically cuts the dorsal side of the shrimp shell and optionally the meat, and the meat picking station removes the meat from the shell.
In such conventional shrimp processing machines, the shrimp can be picked with a fork type mechanism that includes a plurality of tines that pass through the cut in the shrimp shell and into the dorsal side of the meat. In some conventional machines, the tines are then moved along a path that is generally along the longitudinal direction of the shrimp, thereby sliding the meat from the shell. Once the meat is removed from the shell, it can be removed from the tines for further processing and/or packaging.